Afghan families resort to selling their kidneys and even their own children so they can buy food

Entire families in Afghanistan have been forced to sell their kidneys so they can buy food, as the country plunges deeper into a humanitarian crisis.

One family – including three brothers and two sisters – all underwent surgery and sold their organs for around £1,150 each in order to feed their relatives.

For those who have already sold their kidneys to feed their starving families, many are resorting to selling their own children to survive because they have ‘nothing left to sell’, as Afghanistan’s economy teeters on the brink of collapse.

One husband and wife, who have sold their kidneys to feed their eight children and wish to remain anonymous, are now considering selling one of the youngsters because they fear they will starve otherwise.

Overcome with emotion, the 25-year-old mother, from a village outside the city of Herat, told Sky News: ‘About six months ago, my three-year-old son died of hunger. I can’t see them all lose their lives… at least this way, someone else will feed them.’

Her husband, who has not decided which of their eight children to sell, said they have no choice and their situation is so desperate he would sell the infants for less than the price of his kidney.

‘We have nothing left to sell,’ the father said. ‘We have to sell our children now and I’m prepared to do this for even 20,000 Afghanis (£150). I can’t go to sleep every night with them crying that they are hungry.’

The family said they have no choice, and are among scores of destitute families in Afghanistan being forced to sell their children to survive.

Since the Taliban took over Afghanistan in August last year, the country’s economy is on the brink of collapse and international humanitarian aid has been put on hold – and the effects are deeply felt by families who cannot buy basic goods such as food.